Birding Tour USA: Colorado – Lekking Grouse and Rocky Mountains

Colorado: Lekking Grouse, Rocky Mountains, and Open Plains
April 2022/2023

 

Colorado offers one of the most spectacular North American birding spectacles with the spring lekking season of several grouse species including the stunning Gunnison (Sage) and (Greater) Sage Grouse and the ever declining Greater and Lesser Prairie Chickens. Churring, gurgling, prancing males strut around their chosen lek, competing with other males to see who can get selected by a mate. While this trip is a more focus “chicken run” of sorts, there are plenty of other amazing bird species to be on the lookout for. These include a nice mix of both migrants and long staying species such as Black, Grey-crowned, and Brown-capped Rosy Finches, Barrow’s Goldeneye, American Dipper, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Pinyon Jay, Bald Eagle, and the list goes on and on! Both spring and fall migration in Colorado are amazing and we time this trip perfectly for the spring leks and arrival of spring migrants on their journey to breeding grounds. Along with the amazing bird and wildlife spectacles, are the wide assortment of fantastic habitats providing jaw-dropping scenery throughout the tour. From the stunning Rocky Mountains and rolling grass prairies to the cottonwood canyons and pine forests, the trip is never lacking a stunning view along the way. This great diversity of habitats provides us a refreshing new locale each day and with it a differing bird and wildlife community. The National Audubon Society and Colorado Birding Trail do a fantastic job here to help preserve the pristine habitats and help encourage folks to get out and experience nature with their birding festival in March and other community programs.

The Black Rosy Finch is arguably one of the prettiest North American birds.

 

This tour begins in the mile-high city of Denver, visiting its various pristine birding locations before heading west and up into the dizzying heights of the Rocky Mountains. Up here, the search is on for the tricky White-tailed Ptarmigan and rosy finches. We continue onwards for our first few leks of the trip and then head southwest to Grand Junction and Gunnison, birding along the way in hopes of seeing treats like Mountain Bluebird and Clark’s Nutcracker. From here we head east and into the lowlands and grasslands of southeast Colorado with a brief dip into Kansas for Lesser Prairie Chicken. We complete our large “chicken loop” of Colorado in the northeast corner at the Pawnee National Grasslands, a premier birding spot, with Thick-billed and Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Mountain Plover amongst the many targets.

This trip can be combined with our Texas Spring and Whooping Cranes Tour, which immediately precedes it, and with our Florida Peninsula and Specialties Tour following it.

 

 

Itinerary (11 days/10 nights)

 

Day 1. Arrival in Denver

Arrival at the Denver airport will be followed by introductions and an orientation about our upcoming trip. We will do some local birding as time allows and prepare for what will surely be a fantastic tour full of beautiful birds and scenery.

Overnight: Denver, Colorado

 

Day 2. Genesee, Loveland Pass, Silverthorne

Today will be jammed packed as we work our way out of Denver towards Steamboat Springs in the northwest. The morning will kick off with some birding at Genesee Mountain Park on the edge of Denver. Some of the targets here include Cassin’s Finch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Williamson’s Sapsucker. As we cruise through the mountains towards Loveland Pass, we will be sure to watch out for species like Mountain Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Two-barred (White-winged) and Red Crossbills. We will also keep our eyes peeled on the fast-moving rivers and streams for American Dipper. Eventually, we will make it to the Guanella Pass, our first stop in search of White-tailed Ptarmigan, before retreating from this high elevation back to the small town of Georgetown. If we do not have any luck here, we’ll take Route 6 over the summit of Loveland Pass (weather permitting) to give us another chance for the elusive White-tailed Ptarmigan. We’ll descend down the mountains to the town of Silverthorne where we will drive the roads, searching for feeders and seeds in hopes of spotting great birds including all three species of rosy-finches, Black, Grey-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. Along Highway 9, towards Kremmling, there are some good bodies of water for ducks and open areas to scan for Prairie Falcon. We’ll have a brief stop at some of the open water areas along the way, which could yield the stunning Barrow’s Goldeneye and other great waterfowl species. Finally, we will arrive in Steamboat Springs, our home for the next two nights.

Overnight: Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The charismatic American Dipper is always a fan favorite.

 

Day 3. Coalmont for Sage Grouse lek, Hayden

This morning we will get up early, grab a quick breakfast and head east to look for (Greater) Sage Grouse on their lek in the Coalmont area. Leaving early is critical to ensure we are set up before sunrise, when the birds come onto the lek. From our vehicles we’ll be able to watch the spectacle of these amazing birds strutting around, inflating air sacs, and fanning tails to attract a female. From here we’ll continue north to Walden, visiting the Delaney Butte Lakes and the Walden Reservoir in search of some wintering water birds. In the afternoon, we’ll retrace our steps west, birding to Hayden for our first chance to spot Sharp-tailed and Dusky Grouse. After dinner, it is back to the hotel for the evening in Steamboat Springs.

Overnight: Steamboat Springs, Colorado

 

Day 4. Hayden, Black Mountain, Grand Junction

We’ll start the day with a check of the Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. We should be able to park off the road and get a good look at these birds lekking away in the morning. From here, we’ll head north of Craig to Black Mountain in the Routt National Forest, checking for American Three-toed Woodpecker and Dusky Grouse lekking in the road. We’ll continue south from Craig onto Route 13, looking for waterfowl along the way, especially Cinnamon Teal. At Meeker, we’ll head west towards Rio Blanco Lake to check for loons and other waterfowl, and then drive south along Route 5 through this wonderful wilderness area, checking for birds along the way. Just north of Rifle, we’ll rejoin Route 13 and make a quick stop at the Fravert Reservoir to look for Pinyon Jay, Juniper Titmouse and Bewick’s Wren. There is a good pond here that hosts a variety of waterfowl and both Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. We might see White-throated Swift flying about as well. At Coal Creek Canyon, we’ll pass the Cameo power plant and head into open juniper country, where we get a chance to look for Chukar Partridge, Say’s Phoebe, Rock Wren, and Black-throated Sparrow. We’ll make it to Grand Junction for dinner and our hotel for the evening.

Overnight: Grand Junction, Colorado

 

Day 5. Grand Junction, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Crested Butte

We start the day with the breath-taking views from Colorado National Monument. Just a few of the target birds here include Gambel’s Quail, Juniper Titmouse, Western and Mountain Bluebirds, and a possibility for American Grey Flycatcher. We’ll check a few of the local reservoirs near Delta for Western and Clark’s Grebes along with a bevy of ducks, and we’ll also scout the cattails for rails and Marsh Wren. Then we proceed to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park’s Rim Drive road. Here, we have another chance to find Dusky Grouse, sometimes seen displaying atop picnic tables! This road offers outstanding views of the canyon. We’ll make our way on the South Rim Drive to the visitor center for some great looks at the canyon. While we may have already seen these species elsewhere, other possibilities here include Golden Eagle, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Violet-green Swallow, Clark’s Nutcracker and Green-tailed Towhee. We’ll also need to keep our eyes open for some amazing mammals such as Mule Deer, Bobcat, Grey Fox and Yellow-bellied Marmot. Our final main destination for the day is the Blue Mesa Reservoir. This area may hold lots of waterfowl, some gulls (American Herring and possibly California Gulls), shorebirds, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Sage Thrasher, and Vesper Sparrow. Get to bed early tonight in preparation for our early start to Day 6!

Overnight: Gunnison, Colorado

These types of breath-taking views are standard throughout Colorado.

 

Day 6. Gunnison

Today we will head for the Endangered (IUCN) Gunnison (Sage) Grouse lek. Things you need to know: we will be departing the hotel around 4:45 a.m. as we must be parked and set an hour before sunrise, as the birds get there quite early. Once at the viewing area, there is no leaving the cars (no bathroom breaks!) until the birds are finished with their displays, perhaps three hours after sunrise. No morning coffee! There is a simple bathroom at the site, and we should be able to use it upon initial arrival and at the end. Also expect cold temperatures. Over the past years, low temps have ranged from 22 to 33 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 to 0 Celsius). We’ll be going back to the hotel after we leave here – you may want to sneak out a blanket or two. Hand and foot warmer packets are always a good idea as well. No flash photography is allowed here either. Other species we may see while enjoying the grouse are Swainson’s Hawk, Horned Lark, Western Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird and maybe a Gunnison’s Prairie Dog. After a late breakfast, we’ll drive to Crested Butte to check for rosy finches. These rosy finches are all based on snow. If it is snowing in the mountains, it will bring the finches down to the feeders. Otherwise, there is only a low chance of seeing them, so, we will keep an eye on the weather forecast. We’ll spend a couple of hours up here checking local feeders and have some lunch before driving back to Gunnison. In Gunnison there are a few areas to check for Great Horned Owl, Black-billed Magpie, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Townsend’s Solitaire and others, before retiring back to our accommodation for the night.

Overnight: Gunnison, Colorado

 

Day 7. Gunnison to Pueblo

If we had no luck with the Gunnison (Sage) Grouse the day before, we can rise early and try again, but if we did have luck we will head east towards Pueblo. On the road to Pueblo, we will stop for birding at Monarch Pass to look for more mountain bird species. There is a parking lot from which you will see some unbelievable scenery. As we descend the east side, we will keep an eye out for Clark’s Nutcracker and Band-tailed Pigeon. Other stops along the route will be where there are open rivers – to look for American Dipper. Bighorn Sheep are a possibility as well. Next, we will make a couple of nice stops on Cañon City Tunnel Drive for a chance at Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, and Black Phoebe. Cañon City River Walk has some nice riparian habitat for a large variety of birds like Western Bluebird, Lesser Goldfinch and the red-shafted morph of Northern Flicker. This is a great place to eat if the weather is good. After lunch, we’ll continue east to a dry scrub area and the Pueblo Reservoir. Some of our target birds include Scaled Quail, Burrowing Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Juniper Titmouse, American Bushtit, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Canyon Towhee. We could also see some species of gulls and water birds at the reservoir before settling into Pueblo for the night.

Overnight: Pueblo, Colorado

 

Day 8. Pueblo to Oakley

Now we leave behind the Front Range and enter the Eastern Plains, going all the way into Kansas with Oakley, Kansas being our final destination. First, we will drive through stellar grasslands with Prairie Falcon, Swainson’s and Ferruginous Hawks and Long-billed Curlew. A few planned stops near the town of Lamar will hopefully net us a few nice species such as Lark Sparrow, American Avocet, Snow Goose and American White Pelican. Finally, we will cross the state border and start ticking birds for our Kansas state list (if you’re into that sort of thing) before we settle in for the night in Oakley.

Overnight: Oakley, Kansas

There will be many chances to see the curious Burrowing Owl.

 

Day 9. Lesser Prairie Chicken lek, Wray

This morning we will be up and at it early again, this time to get on site for the incredibly special Lesser Prairie Chicken leks. This species has been decreasing at an alarming rate but luckily a few populations are still maintaining in this area, and, with support from the local folks, hopefully they can begin increasing again. We may encounter other nice species while enjoying the leks including Horned Lark and Burrowing Owl. From here we will head north, back into Colorado. We may arrive in the Wray area with enough daylight to search the Wray State Fishing Unit for a variety of migrants and we may potentially hit the lekking area for a shot at Greater Prairie Chicken to hopefully enjoy their evening performance.

Overnight: Wray, Colorado

 

Day 10. Greater Prairie Chicken lek and Pawnee National Grasslands

This morning we will visit the Greater Prairie Chicken lek for another chance to see these amazing birds do their display. From here, we will head to the amazing habitat of Pawnee National Grasslands. This area of grassland is mixed with short buffalo grass, which is good for Thick-billed Longspur and Mountain Plover, and the taller grass for Chestnut-collared Longspur. There is also a possibility for Long-billed Curlew, a late Lapland Longspur or a flock of Sandhill Cranes. Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Say’s Phoebe, Burrowing Owl and Golden Eagle are often found here, and while traversing the rolling hills and prairie dog towns we’ll keep an eye out for Pronghorn (Antelope) too. Eventually we will call it quits and head back towards Denver and the airport.

Overnight: Denver, CO

 

Day 11. Departure

Today marks the end of our journey. We will head to the airport for our departure and the conclusion of an amazing tour. To continue the fun, be sure to check out our Florida Peninsula and Specialties Tour which follows this one or perhaps you will enjoy our Texas Spring and Whooping Cranes Tour immediately preceding Colorado.

 

 

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different international guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling. 

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